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enzymes of some of the micro-or^'anisms act injuriously;
perhaps all of them in a degree, but some of them especially
so. Then we have the ptomains. Now, this is a term nam-
ing a group of alkaloidal poisons that are formed in dead
animal matter. An alkaloidal poison is a nitrogenous body
that forms a salt with an acid, the term oid here meaning
like, i. e., it is like an alkali in its reaction with an acid. The
])tomains, then, are the alkaloidal poisons formed by micro-
organisms growing in dead animal matter. The Leucomains
are the alkaloidal poisons formed by micro-organisms grow-
ing as parasites in living matter. Now, here is a distinction
without a difference ; it is practically the same thing, the one
being formed in dead matter and the other being formed in
living animal matter. Then we have another set of poisons
formed by micro-organisms, also nitrogenous and very simi-
lar to the alkaloidal poisons, but which do not form salts
with acids, and are therefore not true alkaloids. These are
generally termed toxins. This word toxin simply means a
poison, but it seems to be the term that has been chosen to
represent these poisonous bodies, and no distinction is made
in these between those that are formed in dead animal mat-
ter and in living animal matter, or those that are formed by
Saprophites and those that are formed by Parasites. Then
we have a fourth poison that becomes active only after the
micro-organism has died and goes to pieces—the tox-albu-
min, or the poisonous albumin ; they are albuminoid poisons,
dififering in this respect from the nitrogenous poisons, and
these seem to be confined to the albuminous contents of the
micro-organisms and become active only after the death and
solution of the bodies of these plants. Then we have these
four general classes. Now, these poisons are given specific
names as we succeed in isolating them and determining their
characters definitely. For instance, the micro-organism that
gives rise to the disease known as tetanus forms an alkaloidal
poison which has been isolated and determined and we call
it tetanin ; the poison formed by anthrax is called anthracin,
etc., naming them after the same fashion precisely that we
would name the alkaloids from the higher plants. So we will
know each one of these as it is isolated and definitely deter-
mined. In this way we are gradually gaining distinct knowl-
edge of the products of micro-organisms. You will notice

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